


something’s going on, a change is taking place

by intertwiningwords



Category: Handsome Devil (2016)
Genre: Crushing, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 05:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21069977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intertwiningwords/pseuds/intertwiningwords
Summary: ever since the game, things between conor and ned are different.





	something’s going on, a change is taking place

After the winning game, something between Ned and Conor began to change.

That hug on the field was easy to brush off, a moment of excitement and passion that was totally normal for two bros to hug. Even two gay bros, who totally  _ weren’t  _ attracted to each other.

Right? Right. Ned was convinced of it.

Sure, Conor was attractive, but that was more fact than opinion. But they were just friends,  _ best _ friends, who both happened to be super gay, but still super not in love.

Ned wasn’t in love. He didn’t even  _ believe _ in love. It wasn’t as though he had many positive role models when it came to relationships. However, he had heard about it in books, songs, poems...The butterflies in the stomach, the flushed cheeks, stumbling over words. He’d had crushes before, sure, but he had certainly never been in love, and was sure that he never would be.

“Ned?”

Pulled away from his thoughts, green eyes flickered up to look at Conor. “Yeah?”

“You alright? You’re sort of staring into space.”

Ned’s cheeks turned pink. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just thinking, I suppose.”

“Anything in particular on your mind?”

As Conor asked, he scooted closer.

“Oh, I, er…”

“Conor!”

The two boys were pulled away from their moment, heads spinning to look at the music room’s entrance.

“Practice, c’mon!” Wally said, exasperated.

Conor stood quickly, putting his guitar on the chair. “See you later,” he said to Ned before taking off.

Any attempt at a confession died on the tip of Ned’s tongue, making him sigh.

His fingers plucked at the strings of his guitar, idly beginning to strum the song he and Conor had learned together, and the melody came easy to him after all that practice.

Despite the bad memory of the talent show itself, the song still seemed to hold a special place in his heart, for all the time he spent watching Conor’s hands play, his lips form the lyrics, hearing every note and breath as they sang and played and laughed together for hours on end.

***

Later, back in their dorm, Ned laid back on his bed with his arms tucked behind his head, eyes fixated on the little crack in the ceiling paint above his head.

Conor returned from practice, hair damp from the showers.

“How was practice?” Ned asked, turning to face him.

“It was alright,” Conor replied. “Coach has been a bit, uh,  _ difficult _ , lately, but it’s no big deal, I—Hold on a second...Are you wearing my sweater?”

Ned looked down at his chest. “Am I?”

“I think so, yeah,” Conor said, head tilting. “Maybe our laundry got mixed up.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry! It...It looks good on you.”

Ned turned red from the tips of his ears and down his neck. He had noticed that the sweater was quite big, but hadn’t thought much of it. As he’d been laying down, it had hiked up around his ribs and the sleeves had been bunched up in his fists.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

Conor walked over to Ned’s side of the room (although it was no longer divided, it was less separated in half, the other person always spilling over into the other’s space) and sat down on the edge of his bed.

“Aren’t you warm in that thing?”

“No, not really.”

“Your face is all flushed, I thought it might be from wearing a sweater in this weather.”

Ned nudged him with his foot. “No, I’m actually quite  _ cold _ , thank you very much.”

“Well, you’ve got your abs on display for the world, no wonder,” Conor teased, reaching over to poke his belly.

Ned laughed and batted at his hand. “Cut it out.”

Grinning, Conor did the opposite, fingers continuing to poke and prod, too quick for Ned to properly protect himself, leaving him giggling and even more red in the face than he had already been.

Finally, Ned caught his wrists in his hands and held them as if for dear life. “No more,” he said, breathless.

They were both silent then, only the sound of Ned’s deep breaths filling the room as he held Conor’s wrists as if that was normal interaction for two friends. After a moment of very intimate eye contact, Ned dropped his head down, suddenly quite interested in the duvet.

“You can keep the sweater if you like,” Conor said softly.

“Really?”

“Yeah...It looks better on you anyway.”

Ned fell asleep that night hugging himself tightly, engulfed in Conor’s scent.

***

Even Mr. Sherry had begun to notice the shift in their dynamic, always wanting them to practice for the next talent show  _ alone _ , giving them soft, almost knowing smiles. Did other gays just have some sort of sixth-sense? Well, whatever it was, Mr. Sherry was not doing a good job of keeping it subtle. He might as well of just handed them a bowl of condoms and lit some candles.

The record player softly spilled the music of some random indie band that Conor had selected, filling the awkward silence.

Ned clutched his guitar to his chest like a lifeline. “Do you ever think that Mr. Sherry is trying to set us up?” he asked.

Conor titled his head. “Huh?”

“I mean, he always gives us this look when he leaves the room, like…”

“Like the minute he closes the door, we’re gonna start snogging?”

“Exactly!” Ned said, laughing softly, partially in relief that he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed it.

Conor chuckled too, shaking his head. “He’s a madman, but I love him.”

Ned’s smile faltered a little bit at that. Yes, Sherry was mad, everyone knew it. But did Conor mean that his plans to set them up were mad as well?

He seemed to notice the shift in mood, awkwardness filling the space again, the record playing out the last few notes and scratching to a stop.

Clearing his throat, he spoke again. “D’you think Sherry dated anyone when he went here?”

“I don’t think so, especially not back then. I mean, having two of us,  _ out _ , is a rarity even these days.”

Conor nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sure some closested bloke decided that college was a good time to experiment though.”

“Maybe. Ugh, I don’t really want to think about young Sherry getting any action,” Ned said, scrunching up his nose.

“Aw, really? I bet he was cute,” Conor teased, nudging his shoulder.

“That’s exactly why I don’t want to think about it.”

“Oh, so you fancy our professor now, eh?”

“I do not fancy him!”

“Someone should warn Arthur that he has competition,” Conor grinned suggestively, laughing when Ned shoved at his chest.

“You’re a dick,” Ned pouted.

“Yeah, but you love me.”

A beat.

“I mean—”

“I know what you meant.”

Conor seemed flustered, his teasing attitude gone.

“If you’re done pestering me, do you wanna start practicing?” Ned asked, trying to break the tension.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Conor replied, picking up his guitar.

The thought lingered in the back of Ned’s mind all night: Did he love Conor?

He wasn’t too sure, but the fact that he needed to wonder was enough to startle him.

***

Talent show 2.0.

Needless to say, Ned was not thrilled about the whole thing, but Conor had crossed his heart that he wouldn’t leave him like last time.

And, just as he’d promised, the two of them were backstage, a little jittery but mostly just excited to get it over with.

This time, they’d picked a slightly more modern song to cover, by an artist called Cavetown.

“You guys are gonna be great,” Mr. Sherry whispered reassuringly, clapping them each on the shoulder.

“Next, from Woodhill College, please welcome Ned and Conor!”

Polite applause followed the announcement as they walked out on stage.

“This is, uh, Boys Will Be Boys by Cavetown,” Conor said into the mic, his eyes trained on Ned rather than the crowd.

Like the first song they’d sung, Ned sang the higher part, his voice soft and just a little shaky, while Conor took the lower melody, only a tad bit more confident than Ned.

Their eyes never once strayed to the audience, only looking between their guitars and each other. They would both claim it was so that they didn’t mess up, relying on one another for cues, but they both knew if they’d taken once look at the sea of faces, they’d freak.

It was comforting to hold each other’s gaze.

With few slip-ups, they finished the song, proud little smiles curling on each of their faces.

They walked off stage to the sound of whistles and soft cheers, more than just politeness. Mr. Sherry was ecstatic to say the least, pulling them both in for quick hugs, his grin bigger than both Ned and Conor’s combined.

“I’ll leave you two to celebrate,” he told them, wandering off into the wings of the stage.

They watched him go, giddy and adrenaline high, before pulling one another into a big hug, Ned having to stand on his toes to properly wrap his arms around Conor’s neck.

“We fucking did it,” he said.

“We actually got through without either of us fainting,” Conor joked, holding Ned tightly.

They lingered in the hug for much too long, either not noticing or not caring.

“Conor?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Pulling away from the hug just slightly, Conor beamed down at him. “I was going to ask you the same question,” he admitted.

And so, in the dimly lit backstage of the local high school, the sound of some other student’s violin performance the background music, they shared their first kiss.

When they met Mr. Sherry and Arthur outside, fingers interlocked, neither of them noticed Arthur slipping his partner five pounds.

Something had certainly changed between them, but they would both agree that it was for the best.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed!! feedback is rlly appreciated in either kudos/comments :)


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